It’s safe to say that those are often quotidian words to announce a retirement, but for seasoned pacer Varun Aaron, it was a prelude to a brand new chapter in his career.

About 14 years ago, Aaron ran in for the first time to bowl his thunderbolts at Ranchi for Jharkhand, and through the post, he was bringing down curtains to an 18-year long stint at the state team filled with ups and downs - on both cricketing and personal fronts.

For those in oblivion, Aaron will be switching loyalities and playing for Baroda from the upcoming domestic season, joining a star-studded team which will also feature the sibling duo of Hardik and Krunal Pandya.

In modern times, long social media posts generally take some level of planning and structuring - two aspects which took a grand total of 600 seconds in Aaron’s case - since every word came right from his heart.

“The whole package is very exciting, I can challenge myself” - Varun Aaron on playing for Baroda

Aaron’s CV boasts of him featuring in nine Test matches and an equal number of ODIs for India, but the workhorse in him is defined by the 63 First-Class, 73 List-A and 89 T20 matches he’s played so far.

With 282 wickets across the FC and List-A formats, there’s no semblence of doubt about how instrumental Aaron has been in Jharkand’s success over the past few years.

The workhorse nature and an express pacer, still capable of cranking up the pace, is what Baroda have signed up for by roping in the services of Aaron for the 2022-23 season and beyond.

Aaron also shed some light on how bowling at Baroda’s Moti Bagh Stadium would suit him a lot more than plying his trade in Ranchi, while also expressing delight at the strength of Baroda’s squad for the upcoming season.

Now that Aaron’s stepping into a new chapter of his career, challenges will be multi-fold, a feature of human life which the pacer has adapted to like a duck to water. There have been times when life has been cruel to him, either by denying him chances or pulling him out of action for multiple weeks owing to an injury.

Even in times of peril, Aaron’s swatted away all the negative vibes and pushed his boundaries beyond the norm, and in the process, learnt what it takes to fight for what one deserves in life.

As for catching up with his new teammates at Baroda, Aaron’s not had an opportunity yet to speak with Hardik Pandya, who’s now the talk of the town after his scintillating all-round performance in the Asia Cup 2022 against Pakistan.

Interestingly though, Aaron was a part of the IPL 2022 title-winning Gujarat Titans setup, and the pacer’s got more than just a good idea of what Pandya brings to the table - and he’s pretty damn excited about what the future holds for the Baroda team.

November 2015 might have been the last time that Aaron donned the Indian cricket team jersey and walked out to a vociferous reception, but he’s never allowed frustration to seep in and infect his harbored dreams of making a national team comeback.

With the IPL producing many a talent on the pace bowling front, Aaron’s keen to use the competition as a means to improve with time - and ultimately walk out wearing the India jersey one fine day.

As Aaron walks away from what’s been a storied journey with the Jharkhand cricket team, he enters a brand new Baroda setup with the attitude of a kid in a candy shop. When it’s game time though, expect Aaron to be nothing short of the impact that a bull has in a China shop and do what he knows to do best - bowl FAST.

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